The United Arab Emirates reassured U.S. senators including Charles Schumer that Dubai's takeover of the U.S. port assets of Peninsula & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. is not a threat to national security. The country's Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan said concerns voiced by some members of the U.S. Congress that the takeover of P&O terminals in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Miami, Baltimore and New Orleans by Dubai's port company, DP World were ``understandable.'' ``But, we want to make clear we have also worked very closely with the U.S. in a number of issues especially when it comes to combating terrorism, prior-to and post Sept. 11,'' Al-Nahyan said in a statement in response to questions sent by Bloomberg today. ``Dubai Ports is a world class company that has been successfully running ports for many years without incident.'' ... http://quote.bloomberg.com

At least 10 people have been killed and several injured in Libya in clashes during a protest outside an Italian consulate, according to police. Police confronted protesters who had set fire to the building in the port city of Benghazi, in the latest protests over the Muhammad cartoons. They were said to be angry at Italian minister Roberto Calderoli, who had worn a T-shirt displaying the drawings. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has called for his resignation. Mr Berlusconi was on the campaign trail in central Italy when he was forced to return to Rome to coordinate a response to the protests. Speaking to Italian radio, Mr Berlusconi said the policy of the Italian government was one of respect for the Islamic religion. The unrest began on Friday evening, when a crowd of about 1,000 protesters surrounded the consulate, Italian officials said. Libyan police tried to hold them back by firing bullets and using teargas, he said. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4726204.stm

All 12 crew members from two U.S. military helicopters that crashed off Djibouti on Friday have been accounted for, the U.S. military in the Horn of Africa country said on Saturday."Next of kin notifications are still ongoing; therefore, no further information regarding the status of, or condition of, the crew members will be released at this time," it said in a statement.It had earlier on Saturday said 10 crew members were still missing after the crash of two Marine Corps helicopters, while two were rescued on Friday and were in a stable condition. The military did not say if the aircraft collided.The small Red Sea state is the hub of U.S. counterterrorism operations in the Horn of Africa....http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-02-18T161124Z_01_L18560534_RTRUKOC_0_US-CRASH-USA-DJIBOUTI.xml

Aid workers in the Philippines are struggling to find any more survivors after a huge landslide on Leyte island. Heavy rain sent a torrent of earth, mud and rocks down on the village of Guinsaugon. A relief official says 1,800 people are feared dead. Only a few dozen were pulled out of the mud alive on Friday. The US has sent two ships and a UN disaster assessment team is on its way. Another 11 villages in the area have been evacuated. "We asked them to leave yesterday," said Southern Leyte regional governor Rosette Lerias on Saturday. "I had some of the villages checked again today, because some people didn't want to leave their homes." President Gloria Arroyo has said that people should be braced for "the prospect of more landslides." ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4726218.stm

Newly-elected members of militant group Hamas have taken their seats in the new Palestinian parliament, rejecting calls for negotiations with Israel. The Hamas members who dominate the new assembly criticised Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's call for peace talks. After the swearing-in ceremony, Mr Abbas said Hamas would be forming the next government but urged it to respect the Oslo accords signed with Israel. He also hit out at unilateral Israeli measures and military strikes. Hamas have already nominated a senior Gaza Strip leader, Ismail Haniya, as their prime minister. Academic Aziz Duaik, another Hamas representative, has already been confirmed as speaker of the parliament - the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4726494.stm

Nine foreign oil workers have been seized by armed militants from a barge in Nigeria's Niger Delta. The group, including three Americans, two Thais, two Egyptians, a Briton and a Filipino, were on a pipelaying barge. Shell's Forcados export terminal was also set on fire, and oil loading there has been suspended. The attacks come a day after a militant commander told the BBC his group was declaring "total war" on all foreign oil interests in the Delta. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta gave oil companies and their employees until midnight on Friday night to leave the region. In an e-mail quoted by Reuters news agency after Saturday's attack, the group threatened action "on a grander scale". "We decided in response to pleas from our kin in these communities, to carry out strikes against oil and gas facilities in Delta state," the group said. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4726680.stm